Bottle-stopper



UNITED STATE-s 'PATENT OFFICE.d

DANIEL JAMES OOROORAN, OF DEDHAM, ASSIGNOR TO LATVRENOE MICHAEL ALOYSIUS OORCORAN, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

BOTTLE-STPF'ERl SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 402,124, dated April 23, 1889.

Application led January 31,1889. Serial No. 298,269. (Normodel.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DANIEL JAMES Conco RAN, of the town of Dedham, Norfolk county, State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Bottle-Stopper, of which the following is a specification.

The nature of my invention is that of a coinbination of three wires, one fastened round the neck of a bottle and another attached to it by twisting, and the third connected with the last-named wire in the same manner, this third wire passing through an aperture in the upper part of a metallic device, which latter bears a stopper whose under portionenters into the mouth of the bottle and is there firmly fixed, or at pleasure withdrawn, the whole device being at all times firmly held to the rstnamed wire round the neck ofthe bottle; and

the object is to furnish a strong, lasting, and easily-managed device for closing or opening at pleasure an ordinary bottle.

Figure 1 is a side view of the upper part of the bottle-neck, bearing the cork or stopper, showing the bottle stopped or closed. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the bottle open. Fig. 3 is a front view of the bottle-neck, shown as closed. Fig. 4 is a view from above of the stopper and its attachments, the bott-le being closed. Fig. 5 is a view in vertical section of the stopper, and is hereinafter more fully explained.

In the drawings, A, Fig. l, is the bottleneck.

B is a piece of wire, called the""neckwire,

passing round the bottle-neck just beneath the bottle-,chin and held there by its ends being twisted together, as seen at O on the right' respectively, to a short distance above the horizontal portion and a short distance, respectively, on each side of t-he center the bearing-wire D carries a light metallic cylinder, Fig. 3, called the brace, (or it may be entitled a collar.) 'l sometimes substitute for this cylinder a coil of wire.

G, Fig. l, (G G, Figs. 3 and 4,) is the latchwire, (so called because by means of it the bottle-mouth is closed and unclosed,) whose 6o two ends meet in the center of an aperture running horizontally through the stoppleblock boss HX, hereinafter more particularly described. Proceeding outward from this aperture on each side the latch-wire G bends upward on each side and proceeds diagonally (see Fig. 3) till it reaches the horizontal portion of the bearing-wire D, under which it passes, and then round over it. (See Fig. 1.) The latch-wire then .proceeds downward diag- 7o onally, (disposed with a slight inner and a slight outer curve, as seen in Figs. l and 2,) and, retaining its original continuity, (the respective ends being enveloped by the stoppleblock boss H) presents a loop, as shown at the point G in Fig. 3, which point l call the latch-loop.

I am now to describe the stopper, which consists of the stopple and the stopple-block, as Iwill explain. 8o

. In Fig. 5 is seen Il, the stopple-block. This is l a block, made of metal, preferably of shape as seen in Fig. 5, which may be described as being composed ofa solid cylinder, disposed with its axis vertical, with,fast 85 ened to the lower end of the cylinder, a flat disk of diameter considerably less than that of the bore of the bottle-neck. The solid cylinder bears at its upper end another' metallic. disk, of larger diameter than the lower disk, 9o cast upon it, and upon the upper side of this upper disk is cast a boss, H", Fig. 5, called the stopple-block boss. This is seen in Fig. 4f to be an oblong, in view from above, and in Fig. 5 to have an aperture, Which aperture 95 runs ina line coincident withits longest dimensions. Into this aperture, as stated,pass the two ends of the latch-wire G.

J, Fig. 5, is the stopple in vertical section.

It is preferably a piece or block of vulcanroo ized rubber, formed in the shape of a cup, ofsuch size as readily to enter into the. bottlemouth, with inclined external sides, (the whole forming the frustum of a cone.) Across the top of the cup and fastened there concentrically to the cup edge is acover, (see Fig. 5,) of vulcanized rubber, bearing at its center an aperture or hole of diameter a little less than that of the solid cylinder, above described, of the stopple-block Il. Into this last-named aperture the stopple-block lower disk is pressed, and the sides or edges of the hole in the rubber stopple-cover (above described) contracting hold the stopple tightly to the stopple-block and t-hus to the latch-wire G.

'lhe device being supposed to be as shown in Fig. 2, the bottle is open and unclosed. The stopper, resting at the side of the bottlechin, interposes no obstruction to the passage outward of the bottle contents, while the whole device remains at the same time firmly attached to the bottle. Shaking the bottle with unlimited freedom, no rattling noise is heard. The latch-wire, conlined on each side by the rounded angles of the bearing-wire D, and kept apart, as to its two sides, by the brace F, moves practically in two grooves, semi-rotating freely, but incapable of moving sidewise. The annoying noise common to some other devices, and particularly noticeable when a large number of bottles is in process of transportation, is entirely abrogated. For this reason I call my device the antirattle bottle-stopper. Supposing the bottle to be duly filled with its destined contents, it is desired to cork the bottle. To do this, the stopper is, by means of the thumb and finger, placed with its lower projecting portion (the cup of the rubber stopple) in the mouth of the bottle. 'lhe bearing-wire D, turning loosely at its ends in the bearings l5* BX, Fig. 3, and the latch-wire G turning with equal freedom upon the horizontal portion of the bearing-wire, the stopper is located instantaneously. To fasten it, the looped end of the latch-wire G (the latch-loop GX) is pressed still farther to the left, and, the upper end of the upright portion of the bearing-wire D semi-rotating on the points BX B at each side, respectively, carries with it the latch-wire G a-nd also the stopper attached to it. The cover (seen in section in Fig. 5) is compressed as the part of the latch-wire nearest to the stopper (as seen in Figs. l and 2) assumes a perpendicular position. The latch-loop G being, by the continuous action of the hand of the operator, pressed still farther to the left, the portion of the latch-wire nearest the stopper inclines diagonally to the left, the compression of the stopple-cover is slightly relaxed, and the resilience of the cover presses the stopper upward. As the rigid character of the short portions of the latch-Wire G (seen in Figs. land 2 as nearest to the stopper, one on each side, respectively, of the axial center of the bottle-neck, see

these being 0f not the slightest avail to unseal, unclose, or unstopper the bottle. latch-loop or curved leftfhand end GX, Fig. l, of the latch-wire G meanwhile remains, pressed by the expansion of the stopple-disk, close to the side of the bottle-chin, free of any liability to catch the hand or coat-sleeve or any other object.

yVhen the bottle is to be opened, it is taken by the lingers of one hand, clasping the bottle-neck, and the upward pressure of the thumb of the same hand upon the point marked GX of'the latch-wire G repeats the above-described process of closing the bottle in reverse order, and as soon as the short portions of the latch-wire G reach, in the pressure by the operator to the right-hand side, the point at which these short portions incline diagonally to the right hand, the resilience of the compressed stopple-cover completes the desired action, the stopple and the stopple-block ily suddenly to the right and take the position shown in Fig. 2, leaving the bottle-mouth entirely free from obstruct-ion to egress or ingress and my device Iirmly attached to the bottle and ready at any instant for endless repetition of the operations described.

l do not confine myself to the peculiar stopple shown, as I can use my three wires, bent and pivoted, as shown, with other forms of compressible stopper, and with stoppers not compressible.

I claim in bottle-stoppers- 1. The combination and arrangement, in connection with a bottle, of the neck-wire l, the bearing-Wire D, held to the neck-wire B by coils in said neck-wire, and the stiff latchwire G, held to the bearing-wire D by a pair of single coils and carrying the latch-loop GX, with the metal stopple-block H, provided with the boss IIx, the boss holding the two respective ends of the latch-wire G and holding at its lower portion the hollowed rubber stopple J, all constructed and arranged substantially as described and shown.

2. The combination, with a bottle and any stopper, of the wires B, D, and G, the lastnamed wire, accompanied by the brace F, playing on the horizontal portion of the bearingwire D, all substantially as described and shown.

DANIEL JAMES CORCORAN.

)Vitnessesz LEMUEL P. JENKS, O. B. HALL.

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